Asia rises on Wall Street’s record highs, China data misses forecasts

TOKYO – Asian stocks inched up on Friday, after a surge in oil prices helped propel Wall Street to record highs overnight, while Chinese economic indicators that missed expectations did not dent gains in mainland shares.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS nudged up 0.2 percent. It was on track to gain 1.9 percent for the week.

Both China’s CSI300 index .CSI300 and the Shanghai Composite .SSEC rose about 0.5 percent after fixed asset investment, retail sales and industrial output all rose but were below expectations. Both indexes were headed for gains of about 1.4 percent for the week.

Fixed asset investment from January to July increased by 8.1 percent from a year earlier, the slowest rate in more than 16 years, compared with expectations for 8.8 percent.

“Asia Pacific markets are set to finish the week on a high following strong leads from European and US investors,” wrote Michael McCarthy, chief market strategist at CMC Markets.

“Industrial commodities rose, led by oil, and overnight trading displayed ‘risk on’ characteristics despite the lack of an obvious trigger. Important data from China may change the course of the trading day.”

Global markets will also sift through the string of US data, notably retail sales, due later in the session for latest cues about the world’s largest economy and whether it is robust enough to withstand further monetary tightening.

US retail sales are expected to show a 0.4 percent monthly increase in July, according to the median estimate of 64 economists polled by Reuters. ECONUS

In currencies, the dollar rose after San Francisco Fed President John Williams told the Washington Post that the US central bank should raise rates this year because of improving labor market conditions and the likelihood that inflation is heading higher.

The greenback inched up 0.1 percent to 102.035 yen JPY= after gaining 0.7 percent on Thursday, and is heading for a 0.25 percent weekly rise. The euro was steady at $1.11375 EUR= after losing 0.3 percent overnight.

The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major peers, rose 0.1 percent to 95.924, but was on track for a loss of 0.3 percent for the week.

The New Zealand dollar slipped 0.1 percent to $0.7202 NZD=D4 after surging on Thursday to $0.7351, its highest in more than a year after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand cut rates by 25 basis points to 2.0 percent, a smaller cut than some investors had expected. The Australian dollar dipped 0.3 percent to $0.7678 AUD=D4. -Reuters